As the saying goes, all good things to those who wait. And after an almighty fifteen years of waiting for Wildwood, Laika Studios and director/CEO Travis Knight’s wildly ambitious stop-motion adaptation of Colin Meloy’s beloved fantasy book, suffice it to say that it looks like we’re all in for something very good when the Coraline and Kubo And The Two Strings studio’s latest hits our screens next month. Seriously, just check out the newly dropped final trailer for the film below and you’ll see what we mean;
In a world of AI anxiety, isn’t it just a balm for the soul to see such a gorgeous world and such emotive characters so indelibly, patiently, painstakingly handcrafted? Sure, the premise for Wildwood is a tad farfetched — a plucky young Portlander named Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) finds herself heading into an enchanted, dangerous, talking animal filled forest when her baby brother is kidnapped by crows — but its story and its stakes couldn’t feel more real. As this last trailer for the film highlights, here is a tale about how far we are willing to go for the ones we love, and about how loss — of friends, family, home, community — indelibly reshapes and moulds us anew, for better and occasionally worse. Pretty heady stuff for a PG-13, eh? But handily, it all seems to be ensconced within a movie that’s also witty and wondrous in the way Laika’s best always are (the “Fetch!” gag got a snort-laugh here, and we’ll never tire of seeing golden eagle The General take flight.)
The official synopsis for Wildwood — whose starry ensemble includes Carey Mulligan, Jacob Tremblay, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, Richard E. Grant, Awkwafina, Amandla Stenberg, and actual Tom Waits — reads: “After her baby brother is abducted by a murder of crows, headstrong teenager Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) launches a desperate rescue mission into the Impassable Wilderness—an enchanted forest hidden just beyond Portland, Oregon. Joined by her hapless but loyal classmate Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay), Prue navigates a world of talking animals, bandits, and powerful figures driven by grief and ambition. As the pair is drawn into a conflict threatening the balance of the forest itself, Prue must discover the strength and belief she never knew she possessed. If she hopes to save her brother and protect Wildwood’s fragile future, she will have to risk everything.”
With Wildwood set to make its world premiere at London Film Festival on October 11 ahead of its worldwide cinema release on October 23, we’re only weeks away from finally — finally! — seeing what Travis Knight and co have been cooking all these years. Last one into the woods is a rotten egg!
